"Now the whole world's gonna know that you died scratching my balls..."
Casino Royale
It shouldn't be a suprise that this film was directed by Martin Campbell, the same man who directed Goldeneye. That film, as stated earlier, was the first to get introspective as to the nature of who Bond is and what makes him tic. This film takes that concept and fucking runs with it. It's not just that we see Bond at the start of his MI6 career, but that we see the events that help shape him into the badass motherfucker we all know and love.
Part of that comes from Daniel Craig's performance. He's not as polished as Connery or Brosnan, he's not as glib as Moore, but he IS more dangerous than Dalton or Lazenby. Craig actually looks like the kind of Bond who'd enjoy killing an enemy agent.
I don't want to get into too much of a comparison between the book and the film, but I do think it's interesting that the entire first hour is essentially built out of one paragraph of backstory from the book. The ending is also more dramatic, possibly an improvement. I am glad, though, that they kept the line "The bitch is dead." Best ending line for a book ever. That's not to mention the testicular torture scene, which goes on quite a bit longer in the book...
Now, I'm not really a fan of poker, never mind WATCHING poker, but the film actually managed to make these scenes engaging, mainly because the stakes are so clearly defined beyond the chips on the table. I am, however, a fan of Parkour. Those scenes delivered, damnit!
Watching this film feels like we went straight from Lazenby to the latter Dalton, followed by the initial Brosnan, then this. All the chaff in between is just forgotten. Thankfully, in some cases, but man is this a great movie.
(Oh, and while they don't make Kina Lillet anymore, I did manage to get my hands on a bottle of Lillet Blanc about a year ago and make a proper Vesper. It's actually quite the drink.)